Wick-raising mechanism for lanterns.



R. J. KELLY.

' WICK RAISING MECHANISM FOR LANTERNS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. I911.

1,241,125, Patented Sept. 25, 1917.

lV/TNlziSSES INVEN TOR. zfiw Z6 Ham/Pp J 1 54 L Y ATTORNEY.

RICHARD J.

KELLY, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

NICK-RAISING MECHANISM FOR LANTERNS.

Substitute for application Serial No. 38,398, filed July 7,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, 191?.

1915. This application filed May 15, 1917. Serial To all whom it mayconcern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD J. KELLY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wick- RaisingMechanism for Lanterns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in lanterns, and has for itsobject to provide novel, simple and efiective means for raising andlowering the wicks without requiring the lifting of the globe or theremoval of the oil-pot from the frame. A further object is to provide anoperating-gear which is carried by the guard-ring of the lantern frame,and which co-acts with a circular-rack which is pivotally mounted on theoil-pot, for raising and lowering the Wick. And a furtherobject is togenerally improve, simplify and cheapen the construction of lanterns ofthe class.

The invention relates particularly to an improvement in the class ofwick-raising and lowering devices shown and described in my UnitedStates Patent No. 996488, bearing date June 27, 1911. i

The various features and parts of the invention will be understood fromthe detailed description which follows, and by reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a horizontal section takenon line l-l of Fig. 2; showing the application of my improvement to awell-known type of lantern. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section, takensubstantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; showing the construction,arrangement, and operation of the wick-raising mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the bell-gear or rack and thepinion which drive and are driven thereby.

In my former patent referred to, I showed "the usual wick-raisingspindle, on the outer end of which was mounted a pinion which engagedand was driven by a circular rack, the latter being loosely journaledfor rotation on the neck of the burner. 1 next showed a rack-rotatingmember or shaft, which passed vertically upwardly through the oil-pot,on the upper end of which was mounted a second pinion for rotating saidcircular rack,

the lower end of the said shaft projecting below'the oil-pot and havinga thumb-piece for manipulating the said shaft. This construction andarrangement of the wick raising mechanism entailed considerable extrawork and expense, which included the piercing of the oil-pot and theinsertion of a tube therein for containing and supporting the saidupright shaft, besides it required the lantern to be lifted up forgaining access to the thumb-piece. Owing to the fact that the saidthumb-piecewas positioned at the bottom of the oil-pot it was in dangerof being injured, broken, or interfered with in case the lantern wasdropped, or whenever the bottom thereof came in contact with some hardsubstance. It was further necessary, under the former construction andarrangement, to provide means for disconnecting the pinion carried bysaid shaft from the internal gear, so as to prevent the wick from beingaccidentally raised or lowered. The object of the present invention isto eliminate the upright shaft and related parts of the former deviceand to provide a novel, simple and convenient rack-operating means,which is journaled in the guard-ring of the lantern frame, and which isso positioned that the simple insertion of the oilpot into the frame,operatively connects the said means with the rotatable wick-raisingrack, to the end that the said means may be manipulated convenientlyfrom one side of the guardring, without requiring any change in theposition of the lantern, and the said means is also adequately.protected from injury as well as accidental operation at all times. Thefollowing is a detailed description of my improvement:

In the drawing, the lantern frame consists of a guard-ring 2, which iscylindrical, and to the bottom of which is secured a flaring base 3. 4represents the wire guards, and 5 the globe. All of which may follow theusual construction for an open bottom lantern of the class. The base 3has a relatively large circular opening which is surrounded by aninwardly facing flange 7. 8 represents the. oil-pot which is insertedupwardly through the opening in the base 3, and the said pot has anannular flange 9 which engages the underside of the flange 7 forsubstantially sealing the bottom of the lantern, as 'wellas forlimitingtheinsertion of the pot, and a pair of springs carried by theoil-pot engage the opposite sides of the flange 7 for holding the potin-pla'ce. Thetop oi the oil-pot'has a threaded opening 11, whichreceives the threaded lower end 12 of the burner, and when the burner isscrewedintothe pot there is a slight space left between the'top o'fthe-potand a'shoulder 13 of the burner. The burner is cylindricalandhollow and is pierced axially by the usual flat wick tube 'l l, inwhich the wick 15 "isdis posed. The "upper end'of the wick tubevprojects sl-ightlyabove the top of the burner, while its lower "endextends downwardly intothe pot '8. 16 represents the wvick raisingspindle, or. shaft, which is joai-naled in the neck ofthe burner atright angles tothe wick-tube, the said spindle being fitted with theusual star pinions 17:, which 'directlyengage the wick. The outerend'ot'the spindle lei-is fitted with a pinion 1B, which meshes with acircular rack 19,

which is c u't'in the top ofa'bell sha'pedpart 20, thetop of thesaidbell being'pertorated centrally and pierced by the threaded end of theburner,'upon which it is rotated, as The depending cybest-"seen in 2. IV lihdri'c'al portion or the bell 20 is slightly larger in diameter thanthe oil-'pot and fits loosely overfor telescopes, the top of thesaid-pet, and its lower margin is teammw'ardly to provide 'an 'a'nnula'rflange -21 facing the inner sides of the guard-ring. The flanges-1comprises a second'circular rack 22, which isenga'ged and driven by asecond pini'oii23. The' pinion'23 is mounted rigidly one main shaft 24which is 'jou'rnaled ina tuhe25, 'the latter piercing the guard-Ting andthe outer'end'of's'aid shaft is fitted with a thuin' w'h'eel 26, bywhich the "pinion 23 is ro'ta'ted. 27 represents 'a sleeve whichtele's'cofpes' the inner end'of the tube 25 and serves to space'thepinion 23 fromthe guardr'iiig 2, and also to holdsaid pinion in. theproper position relatively te the rack 22.

, The shaft 24: is held from longitudihalmovenie'nt' 'ih theoppositedirection by a boss or ferrule '28 which -is interposed between, andspaces the thumb-'wheel26, from, the guardring, andtthe saidboss isrigidly secured to thesaidrihg V The operation "of "my "improved wickraising lowering mechanism is extremely simple: The turning of thethumb-wheel 26 to the'riIght and left, respectively raises andlowers'lthe wick 15. The said. operations are accomplished inthe"following manner: When the thumb-wheel 26 and the pinion 23 are turned"to the right, the belt iece 20 is rot'ated to the l'eft,'and the s'aidbell in tiirn,:t11 i-oug11-'t11e circular rack 19 rotates tlie' pihion18'f'to the right for raising the wick 15. The rotation of thethumb-wheel ill -tlie opposite direction will then lower the wick. c. v

By this construction and arrangement of the bell 2"0,the'sa'id part"n'i'hybereadily and cheaply stamped and formed up out of sheet metal,and the top, and flange 21, may then dies for forming a Y rc'iilar'r'ack 22 {is brought into engagement with the underside "of the-pinion28, and the 'sai d p ihi on may then be retated bythe manipulationhf thethumb-wheel The pinion 23' is-constantly inengagement with the Tack22 aslongas' the pet i's hel d in place, and "as-the thumb-7611961 26 is e1-manentl attached to the guard-ring, and is disposed between two ot theguard "wires 4, there is no danger of the s'aid ing into contact withany foreign substance, whilgh would disturb the adjustment of the w1c IIt is o'bv'ieus that "my improvement may be applied tom-any differentstyles or m'aies otlanterns, with but few "slight inodi fi ez'u tions orchanges, without departing from the spirit'ofmy inventien.

Havin' ehas deseribedmy invention, what The dispesing orthe 26 feradjusting the Ificlaim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 7is 1. In a lantern, the combination wi ththe guard rihg, the oil-pot,ahd the "burner, of a wick-raising mechanism comprising a hellsha ped'part joii'rnaledfin the burner and telescoping theoil pot, the "top ofsaid -part having a circular rack concentric to the biirner, the bettomof said annular facing the guard iihg, "the said flange comprisingasecond circular mel e wick'raisingspindle'having a pinion engaging thefirst' r'aek, and a shaft "j'ourn'aled inone side ofthegiiard-1"'iii-gahd'supporting a pinien engaging theseeond rack 2. Theeombinati'on "withthe' oil p'ot, of a bell shaped gear partiall'y"telescoping" said pot and permanently attached 'theretofsa id gearcomprising a plurality of" horizoiital circular "racks, one of saidracks cut'i 'n the top of sa'idbjell, i thesecond r'ack being hut ina-hoidzontalfiange disposed below thefirst rack, a pinion constantlyinm' e'sh with 'sai d fi'rst"-r"ack, and pinion carried by the giiard ringof "a lantern adapted 'to*be" engaged"-by said second rack whentheoilpetisin'serted inthe lanternfr'anie.

3. The 'com'bihation withth'e-"niovable (in:

pot of a lantern, of a bell gear partially telescoping the top of theoil pot and movable with said pot, said gear journaled for rotarymovement independent of said pot, said gear comprising two concentricracks, a pinion constantly engaging the smaller of said racks andmovable with said gear and pot, and a pinion carried by the guard ringof the lantern adapted to engage the larger of said racks while said potis inserted in the lantern 1 0 frame.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

RICHARD J. KELLY.

Copies a! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. 6."

